How I Integrate Traditional Medicine into My Travel Routine

Travel can be both thrilling and exhausting. Here are some strategies I use to stay in top form while on the go.

Steam saunas can provide some relief to muscular pain.

I recently realized that my travel habits were unusual when my best friend took a peek at my itinerary for my trip to Europe and Africa and mercilessly ribbed me for making a thermae (a hot water spa) my first stop upon landing in Belgium. However, my spa pitstop wasn’t about bougie travel or a luxury venture. “It’s for my health,” I sheepishly explained.

As an amputee and someone who lives with scoliosis and hip dysplasia, my muscle pains and joint aches can interfere with my ability to not just function, but also to enjoy life and all of its adventures. The dehydration and discomfort that is par for the course on long haul flights only exacerbates matters. To stay ahead of the pain, I have to be proactive, using a variety of techniques to promote sleep and reduce back and muscle pain.

When I stopped to think about it for a bit, I quickly realized that many of my top travel hacks have their origins in traditional medicine—yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, and movement based therapy. As we gear up for holiday travel, I thought you might find some of these useful to try. As a disclaimer—I hold no financial interests in any of the companies or products described below. I just find them useful.

Getting Organized

It seems like there’s an endless array of products marketed to the savvy traveler, from footrests to neck pillows, clothing organizers, and more. Historically, I’ve been an over-packer, always wanting to be prepared for anything that could go wrong on a trip. Over time, however, I’ve learned to streamline my selection of essentials for a comfortable journey. Here are some of my must-haves:

Pencil Pouches

These are a cheap and easy way to organize essentials, from travel medicines to an oral hygiene kit, a travel pack of herbal teas, handkerchiefs, and instant coffee. I like simple canvas pouches, available in a pack of 10 for $9.99. I use a Sharpie marker to label each pouch for easy access to items in my bag.

A note on the teas: I call this my "never-ending tea bag." I simply refill it with bags of my favorite teas found in hotel rooms or airport lounges while traveling. Mint tea is my go-to fix for any digestive or respiratory issues I may have while traveling. By making the most of the free offerings I encounter along the way, I rarely have to buy new tea for my travel kit.

Lightweight backpack

This comes in handy both during flights for quick access to essentials at your seat and for adventures in the city or countryside. I prefer super light packs that can fold up neatly to fit into one of those canvas pouches or a similarly sized pouch.

Water Bottle

I carry this everywhere. Hydration and health go hand in hand. Choose one that’s small enough to fit easily into your backpack or purse so you can keep it with you at all times.

Planning is Key

Sample table of contents in my google sheet used for trip planning.

I am the queen of spreadsheets and Gannt charts in my work, so it should come as no surprise that I like to have all my travel details meticulously organized before heading to the airport. I’ve found Google Docs to be the simplest tool for organizing my trips (and it’s easy to share with travel buddies or your emergency contact). I structure my document using various tiers of headings: each date of the trip is a "Heading 1," details such as travel arrangements, hotels, and activities are "Heading 2," and additional subheadings or bullet points are added as needed. Then, I simply click "Insert Table of Contents" at the top of the document to automatically generate a clickable itinerary that’s super easy to navigate.

Surviving The Flight

The long-haul flight is the trickiest part for me when it comes to pain management. I recently achieved Diamond status on Delta, which comes with some global upgrade passes as a reward (yippee for flat-bed seats!). However, flying first class is an all-too-infrequent luxury for me (and most of us!). This is where traditional medicine methods come to my rescue. Here are some strategies I find essential for making flights easier:

Aromatherapy

Is there anything worse than enduring unpleasant odors on a 10+ hour flight? It’s happened to me more than once. Aromatherapy can help address odorous issues from nearby passengers while also promoting relaxation and much-needed rest. Years ago, a Canadian friend gifted me a Saje Pocket Farmacy for my birthday, and I’ve been a fan ever since. There’s no need to bring the entire kit, though—you can purchase individual roll-ons. My favorites for flights are the Gutzy blend (peppermint, Roman chamomile, fennel) and the Stress Release blend (Roman chamomile, clary sage, lavender).

Circulation

Hydration and circulation are essential on long flights, especially when you don’t have the luxury of putting your feet up in first class. While it may be tempting to indulge in the free booze, alcohol is a diuretic that will dehydrate you and increase the urge to urinate throughout the flight. Stick to water and avoid caffeine.

It’s also important to get up and move around whenever possible during the flight—bathroom breaks are a great opportunity for this. You can also use these opportunities to get in some gentle stretches. Rotate your shoulders and roll your neck as you would when doing chair yoga.

To reduce swelling in your legs, I recommend wearing compression socks. If you’re particularly prone to swelling and leg discomfort, as I am, you might also consider purchasing an airplane foot hammock (it hooks onto your food tray to keep your feet elevated) and an inflatable lower back pillow for lower back support in addition to a neck pillow.

The downside is that the more items you bring, the more you have to carry during your trip, but I often find these tools absolutely essential for managing my pain on long flights.

Meditation

One of the biggest challenges for me on a flight, especially when seated upright, is getting comfortable enough to fall asleep. I’ve found that meditation can be a great help with this. I use guided meditations and sleep stories available through the Calm app, which I download to my phone before the flight. Noise-canceling earbuds help reduce background noise, and when paired with a soft, cushy eye mask and my aromatherapy, I’m usually able to drift off for at least a few hours.

After the Flight

This is where many savvy travelers drop the ball and succumb to jet lag. When I come off a long flight, my priorities are threefold: hydrate, freshen up, and rest. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon on international trips to arrive early in the morning or face a long layover before your next leg. This is where careful planning becomes essential.

Thermae

Take, for example, my trip to Brussels. I arrived in the country at 8 AM but couldn’t check into my hotel until 3 PM. Instead of spending the next seven hours feeling miserable and restless in a hotel lobby, I researched nearby options and found a thermal spa that opened at 9 AM. I came prepared with my swimsuit and a lightweight Turkish towel in my hand luggage and spent the morning relaxing in warm, bubbly thermal pools, sipping mineral water and herbal tea, and easing my stress and muscle aches in the steam sauna.

I had been suffering from pretty bad back pain in the days leading up to the trip, so I planned ahead and reserved a massage appointment at the thermae. The result? I felt relaxed, refreshed, in much less pain than when I started the trip, and ready to spend the next full day in a boardroom chairing a grant panel.

Thermae are quite common throughout Europe, and in general, the entry price is under $40 and you can spend the full day there. Food and massage services are available at an additional cost. It’s not a bad way to start a trip feeling clean, nourished, and refreshed! The best place in the world for a thermal dip, though, is Japan! Many accommodations include onsen (thermal spas) in the hotel offerings. I wrote about onsen last year:

Day Rate Hotels

If thermal waters aren’t your thing but a quick shower and sleep definitely is, there’s another option for you. Many hotels near major international airports offer day rates. The concept is simple—they have empty rooms they’d like to fill, and you can access these rooms at a steep discount to use from morning to early afternoon before their evening customers arrive. This is a perfect solution for early morning arrivals or long layovers between flights.

You can find day rates on websites like this one, but I’ve also had success by simply calling the closest hotels to the airports I fly into and finding similar options. It’s important to book these in advance. Many hotels offer free shuttles to and from the airport.

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This post became much longer than I intended, but I hope you’ll find some of these tips helpful! Do you have any travel tips originating in systems of traditional medicine you’d like to share? I’ve opened up comments below.

Yours in health, Dr. Quave

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Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of The National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communication, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription to Nature’s Pharmacy or donation to her lab research.

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